1. Nicaragua was named after Chief Nicarao of the leading Indian tribe in the area when it was being first settled in 1522 during the Spanish Conquest.
2. The estimated Indian population of one million plummeted to tens of thousands after the Spanish came over on ships. 3. In 1838, the country finally won its independence. The picture below is from an Independence Day Parade.
4. Throughout the 1900s, the Liberals (centered in León), and the Conservatives (centered in Granada) competed for political power. 5. On August 27, 1971, Nicaragua's current flag was adopted.
Other Historical Facts: Violent opposition to governmental manipulation and corruption spread by 1978. This resulted in a short-lived civil war that brought the Marxist Sandinista guerrillas to power. In the 1980s, Nicaraguan aid to rebels in El Salvador caused the US to sponsor the anti-Sandinista 'contra' guerrillas. After the free elections in 1990, then again in 1996, the Sandinistas were finally defeated. The economy was being gradualy rebuilt in the 1990s, but was later hard hit by Hurricane Mitch in 1998.
Above is a video of the historical cities of León and Granada, but mostly Granada. ^
The current capital of Nicaragua is Managua. The picture below is of the capital city after the 1972 Earthquake with a magnitude of 7.5 and two aftershocks within the hour of magnitude 5.0 and 5.2. There is a lot of rich history in the Nicaraguan markets. Below is a quick tour of a more modern Nicaraguan market, but you can still see how much culture is still evident in the market.
by Sarah D (june 2012)
The Basic Timeline:
1. Nicaragua was named after Chief Nicarao of the leading Indian tribe in the area when it was being first settled in 1522 during the Spanish Conquest.2. The estimated Indian population of one million plummeted to tens of thousands after the Spanish came over on ships.
3. In 1838, the country finally won its independence. The picture below is from an Independence Day Parade.
4. Throughout the 1900s, the Liberals (centered in León), and the Conservatives (centered in Granada) competed for political power.
5. On August 27, 1971, Nicaragua's current flag was adopted.
Other Historical Facts:
Violent opposition to governmental manipulation and corruption spread by 1978. This resulted in a short-lived civil war that brought the Marxist Sandinista guerrillas to power. In the 1980s, Nicaraguan aid to rebels in El Salvador caused the US to sponsor the anti-Sandinista 'contra' guerrillas. After the free elections in 1990, then again in 1996, the Sandinistas were finally defeated. The economy was being gradualy rebuilt in the 1990s, but was later hard hit by Hurricane Mitch in 1998.
Above is a video of the historical cities of León and Granada, but mostly Granada. ^
The current capital of Nicaragua is Managua. The picture below is of the capital city after the 1972 Earthquake with a magnitude of 7.5 and two aftershocks within the hour of magnitude 5.0 and 5.2.
There is a lot of rich history in the Nicaraguan markets. Below is a quick tour of a more modern Nicaraguan market, but you can still see how much culture is still evident in the market.
Bibliography:
Kaestle, Klaus. "Nicaragua." Nicaragua. Nationisonline, 6 June 2011. Web. 02 Mar. 2012. <http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/nicaragua.htm>.